About Me

I am a Soto Zen priest, and Abbot and one of the four guiding teachers of Boundless Way Zen. I worked at the Center for Mindfulness at UMass Medical School for many years, and have now retired to full-time Zen teaching and residency at Boundless Way Temple in Worcester, MA. I also have a private practice in contemplative counseling. www.worcesterzen.org, www.melissablacker.com

Sunday, April 13, 2014

fences, walls, pebble, tiles

Boundless Way Temple, near front steps, April 2014

Spring has come to Worcester, and flowers are poking up through the brown grass and leaves of winter. Dogen says, in his essay "Mind Here and Now is Buddha" (Soku-shin-ze-butsu, translated by Gudo Nishijima): "Mind as fences, walls, tiles, and pebbles is nothing other than fences, walls, tiles, and pebbles. There is no additional mud or water." Just these flowers, just these stones. Why do I ask for more?